TRENTON – Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that a Hudson County chiropractor was charged in a state grand jury indictment today for allegedly stealing more than $13,000 by submitting numerous fraudulent claims to an insurance company.

Charles Boas, 64, of Matawan, was charged today with 60 counts of second-degree health care claims fraud and one count of third-degree theft by deception.

“This type of crime increases the cost of health-care premiums for hard-working New Jersey residents,” Attorney General Chiesa said. “My office will continue to prosecute unethical chiropractors and, in doing so, will seek to reduce the upward pressure of insurance premiums.”

The state grand jury indictment alleges that between Oct. 9, 2006 and Aug. 13, 2009, Boas, who worked as a chiropractor in Bayonne, submitted 60 fraudulent claims to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield for chiropractic services that he did not perform. An investigation by the Office of the Insurance Fraud Prosecutor determined that Boas allegedly made false statements and submitted false claims to Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield that certain treatments and services were provided to patients when, in fact, the treatments and services were not provided. The investigation further determined that Boas allegedly requested that his patients identify family members and then he (Boas) submitted fraudulent claims for purportedly treating those family members. It is alleged that, as a result of the fraud, Boas received a total of $13,626 from Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield to which he was not entitled.

The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Second-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison and a criminal fine of $150,000, while third-degree crimes carry a maximum sentence of five years in state prison and a criminal fine of $15,000. Boas may also face civil insurance fraud fines.